Apparatus for applying liquid dressing to leather.



"0.563565. Patented Dec. ll, I900. F. J. PERKINS & F. A. PARKHURST.

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING LlDUlD DRESSING T0 LEATHER.

(Application filed Dec. 11, 1899.)

3 Sheets-Sheet l.

WW. I Iva; 671,32) rs Patented Dec. ll. I900. F. J. PERKINS &. F. A. PARKHURST.

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING LIQUID DRESSING T0 LEATHER.

(Application filed Dec. 11. 1899.)-

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2f T a News pzrsas 50.. vuoro-urna. wAsn'mqrou. n. c.

No. 663,665. Patented Dec. ll, I900.

I F. J. PERKINS &. F. A. PARKHURST. APPARATUS FOR APPLYING LIQUID DRESSING T0 LEATHER.

(Application filed Dec. 11, 1399.)

. 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES ATENT Fries.

FRANKLIN J. PEEK INS, OF WOBURN, AND FREDERIC A. PARKHURST, OF PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING LIQUID DRESSING TO LEATHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,665, dated December 11, 1900.

Application filed December 11, 1899. Serial No. 739,933- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: is driven into the work determining in large Beit known that we, FRANKLINJ. PERKINS, measure the depth to which it penetrates. residingatlVoburn,countyofll/Iiddlesex,and We prefer to subject the work to an air- FREDERIC A. PARKHURST, residing at Peablast after the liquid dressing has been ap- 5 body,couuty of EsseX,State of Massachusetts, plied to blow off or dissipate any drops which citizens of the United States, have invented may have formed and also to assist in drying an Improvement in Apparatus for Applying the work after treatment. Liquid Dressing to Leather, &c., of which the Figure 1 is a rear elevation,centrally broken following description, in connection with the out, of an apparatus embodying one form I0 accompanying drawings, is a specification, of our invention and showing a suitable like characters on the drawings representing counter-shaft for actuating the same. Fig. 2 like parts. is a left-hand end elevation of the apparatus This invention has for its object the proshown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged secduction of novel means for applying liquid tional view ofone of the spraying devices, to

1 dressing to leather or hides and skins of any be described. Fig. eis a perspective view of desired shape or size, the term dressing the receptacle for receiving any overflow or including for the purposes of our invention waste liquid. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional liquid blacking or other liquid coloring-matview of the said receptacle; and Fig. 5 is a ter or liquid of any character with which it is detail plan view, enlarged, of a guideway and 2o desired to impregnate the leather to a greater adjusting device, to be described.

orless extent. So far as we are aware, such We have herein shown the apparatus as dressing, coloring, or blacking of leather has mounted on asuitable bed or base plate A, on been accomplished either by hand labor enwhich standards or end pieces A are erected, tirely or by means of a rotatable brush or having suitable bearings A for a driving- 25 spreader to which the liquid is fed and which shaft 13, provided with usual fast and loose applies the liquid to the work. The hand pulleys B B which are connected by a belt method produces good results of uniform (not shown) with a pulley C on a suitable character, but it is very slow, as the dressing coun ter-shaft O herein shown as located is usually applied with a woolen swab rubabove the machine and supported by hangers 0 bed over the work, while the brush apparatus 0. The shaft B has fast upon it a gear B produces uneven work which has to be gone in mesh with another gear D on one of the over by hand, as the stock is apt to be marked, journals of a preferably-hollow drum D, roscratched, or otherwise injured when the tat-ively mounted in bearings A on the end brush becomes dirty. The brush also acts frames, said drum having preferably end 5 to plait the skin on the flanks and neck and flanges or ribs 01. (See Fig. 1.)

doubles the skin over as its end passes under Referring to Figs. 2 and 5, each end frame the brush, thereby abrading the under side has at the front of the machine a fiat guideof the skin. It is alsoa practical impossibilway A, on which a sliding bearing A is ity to keep the brush clean enough to prevent mounted, each bearing having a depending o 40 Streaky scratching operation thereof. threaded lug a (see dotted lines, Fig. 2) en- In practicing our invention we sustain the tering a slot in the guideway, to be enwork on a suitable support and direct the gaged by an adjusting-screw a, provided dressing thereupon in the form, preferably, of with a hand-wheel a or other device by which a fine spray by or through pneumatic presitcan be readily turned to thereby move the 5 45 sure, relative movement of the work-support bearing A in or out on its guideway, the

and spraying device providing for the subscrew being held from longitudinal movejection of the work to an even application of ment. The bearings A support the journals the liquid in a very rapid, uniform, and per- D of a second and also preferably hollow fect manner. The liquid is directed against drum D, having end flanges d, and over the I00 50 the grain side of the work to fill the pores two dru ms is passed an endless apron or workthereof, the pressure with which the liquid support D preferably of fine wire-cloth or other suitable reticulated fabric kept in the requisite taut condition by means of the adbeing moved longitudinally by rotation of the drum D and being maintained in place laterally by the drum-flanges referred to.

, The apron. or work-support is preferably wide enough for any hide, skin, or'piece of leather which may be had, and when smaller pieces are being treated the reticular nature of the work-support permits the dressing material to pass through it beyond the edges of the work, thus avoiding loading up of the work-support with the dressing, the.

The end frames A of the apparatus support a suitable waste or overflow receptacle D interposed between the upper and lower runs of the work-support (see Fig. 2) and having a transverse opening d in its top (see Fig. 4) below the distributing means for the dressing, to be described. An inclined shelf d within the opening receives the liquid which passes through the work-support and conducts it to the interior of the receptacle D and across the rear end of the latter is a second similar opening 02 and an upturned lip or flange 61 for a purpose to be described. We prefer also to inclose the frame below the lower run of the work-support by a hood H,

(see Fig. 2,) in which a suitable rotary brush H is mounted on journals h that one at the far side of the machine viewing Fig. 2 having a sheave h thereon (see dotted lines) and driven by a belt h passed around a sheave b fast on the shaft B, the brush engaging the face of and cleaning the worksupport as it travels along.

Above the work-support a transverse preferably closed chamber M is mounted on the side frames to contain the liquid dressing, color, or other material which is to be applied to the work, a main supply-pipe M being supported at the top and front of the chamber and communicating with the contents of the latter by feeders M three being shown in Fig. 1, the feeders preferably extending down to near the bottom of the chamber. (See dotted lines, Fig. 2.) Each feeder is controlled by a suitable valve, the handle m being connected with a cross-rod m, by which the valves can be regulated easily from the side of the apparatus. Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, a series 0 atomizers M are connected with the supplypipe M by depending ducts m the lower or delivery end of each duct having preferably divergent outlets in, Fig. 3, and extending into a discharge-nozzle m having an outletorifice m and forming a part of theatomizer. The severalatomizers are connected one With the other by short couplings or pipes m", screwed into or otherwise secured to a chambered portion m of the atomizers, and thus communicating directly with the interior of the latter. At one side of the apparatus the couplings or pipes m are connected with a head M, into which a pipe m leads from a reservoir M held in suitable seats A on the base of the frame. An air-pump Pof any suitable construction has its on t-let-ports connected with the reservoir, the latter being thus supplied with air under desired pressure, the pump piston-rod P being'operated, as herein shown, by a pitmau P driven fromthe counter-shaft themounting of the pump on the apparatus being of no importa nce, however. The passage of air to the head M is governed by a valve M as shown in Fig. 1.

The operation of the apparatus will be obvious from the foregoing description, the air under pressure passing through the orifices m of the nozzles m and acting to create a pariial vacuum within the atomizers, whereby the liquid dressingis drawn from the supplychamber M through the outlets m and is discharged in the form of a line spray upon the work as the latter rests on the support D By varying the air-pressure the blast can be made to drive the dressing more or less deeply into the work, according to the degree of impregnation desired, and the quantity of liquid distributed is regulated by means of valves of the feeders An exceedinglyuniform distribution of the dressing or other liquid to be applied to the work is thus effected in a very rapid and economical manner, the work passing under the distributing or atomizing nozzles as the work-support D travels along beneath them.

We prefer to direct an air-blast upon the work after it has received the dressing or other liquid material to blow off drops should any havecollected, and also to partly dry the work, and with this object in view we have arranged a series of air-nozzles N at the back of the chamber M, (shown clearly in Fig. 1,) the nozzles being very similar to the atomizers M said nozzles having outlet-orifices n (see Fig. 2) and being connected by short couplings n, a length of piping n connecting the series of nozzles with the air-distributing head M A cap n closes the end most nozzle M farthest from the head M and a similar cap m closes the similarly-located atomizer M The lip 01 on the end of the receptacle D directs the air-blast down into the opening 61 through such portion of the work-support D as is left exposed by the leather or other work thereupon. It will be obvious as the air-blast is downward and the work-support perforated or foraminous that the skin or other piece of work will be pressed tightly upon the support, so that there is no chance for the work to be raised up or folded over, resulting in the application of the dressing on the wrong side of the work and producing an unsightly job. The air-blast furthermore operates to maintain the work spread out smoothly without wrinkling while the liquid is being applied thereto.

It will be manifest that so long as the worksupport is foraminous or perforated the particular construction thereof is not restricted to the device herein shown.

Our invention is not restricted to the precise construction and arrangement herein shown, as we have shown one practical embodiment of our invention without attempting to show the various modifications thereof which could be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a foraminous work-support, and means to direct upon the work liquid dressing or the like under fluid-pressure while the work is sustained by said support.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a foraminous work-support, means to direct upon the work liquid dressing under fluidpressure, and means to efiect relative movement of the work-support and said dressingdirecting means.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, a receptacle for liquid dressing or the like, a main supply-pipe connected therewith, a series of atomizers in communication with said pipe, and means to discharge the liquid from the atomizers under pneumatic pressure.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, a receptacle for liquid dressing, or the like, a plurality of atomizers having liquid-outlets connected therewith, said atomizers having their discharge-nozzles inclosing the said outlets, and means to direct air under pressure into the atomizers, to suck the liquid dressing thereinto and discharge the same in spray.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, a foraminous traveling and horizontallyextended work support, and means located above the same to direct liquid dressing under fluid-pressure upon the work sustained by the support.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, an

port, and means located over said receptacle and above the upper run of the work-support to spray liquid dressing under pressure upon the work, the dressing passing through the uncovered portion of the work-support into said receptacle.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, a traveling work support to feed the work, means to spray liquid dressing upon the work, and independent means to direct an air-blast upon the work after the dressing has been applied thereto.

9. In an apparatus of the class described, a foraminous traveling Work-supp0rt, a rotatable brush to engage the face of and clean said work-support, and means to atomize liquid dressing or the like and direct it upon the work by fluid-pressure.

10. In an apparatus of the class described, two rotatable drums, means to positively rotate one of them, a flexible, foraminous Worksupport carried by the drums, and means to adjust one of the latter, to regulate the tension of the work-support.

11. In an apparatus of the class described, two rotatable drums, means to positively rotate one of them, a flexible, foraminous Worksupport carried by the drums, and a rotatable brush to engage and clean the face of the work-support as it is moved by rotation of the drums.

12. In an apparatus of the class described, a foraminous traveling Work-support, .an ad jacent receptacle for liquid dressing or the like, a series of atomizers, a supply-pipe connected therewith and provided with feeders extended into said receptacle, controllingvalves for the feeders, and means to introduce air under pressure into the atomizers, to thereby discharge the dressing therefrom as spray upon the work.

13. In an apparatus of the class described, a work-support, a receptacle for liquid dressing or the like, a plurality of discharge-outlets adjacent the work-support, and means to discharge the dressing from said outlets under fluid-pressure.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANKLIN J. PERKINS. FREDERIC A. PARKHURST.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM F. BLANEY, A. E. DOUGLASS. 

